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Bitumen Penetration

WHAT IS BITUMEN PENETRATION GRADE ?

Bitumen Penetration Grade is unique for road construction in various environmental conditions. These grades of bitumen are named due to their level of hardness and consistency, which leads to the classification of bitumen in a range of grades from 30 to 120. Bitumen Pentration Grade is Bitumen classified using the penetration property. Penetration grading’s basic assumption is that the less viscous the asphalt, the deeper the needle will penetrate. Bitumen which is produced during the process of oxidation of vacuum bottom (the Bitumen production feedstock that derives from distillation tower residue in vacuum oil refineries) at asphalt production unit in a manner that its penetration point (kind of test to indicate the hardness of bitumen) in specified group is classified in different grade of Bitumen. Penetration grade basic assumption is that the less viscous asphalt, the needle will penetrate deeper. This penetration depth is empirically (albeit only roughly) correlated with asphalt binder performance. Therefore, asphalt binders with high penetration numbers (called “soft”) are used for cold climates while asphalt binders with low penetration numbers (called “hard”) are used for warm climates. Just as an example to make it more clear, Bitumen 60/70, means penetration is between 60 dm (Decimeter) to 70 dm, that’s mean needle will penetrate to bitumen sample minimum 60 dm and maximum 70 dm. The penetration grade bitumen is refinery bitumen which is produced by different viscosity. In fact, Penetration bitumen is semi hard black material known as petroleum grade bitumen. The penetration test is carried out to characterize the bitumen, based on the hardness. Therefore, it has the name penetration bitumen. The common bitumen penetration grades are 60/70, 80/100, 85/100, 40/50 and 30/40; which normally Low penetration grade bitumen is used in the warm areas while high penetration grade is used in cold areas. The major Penetration Grade Bitumen is blown asphalt 60/70 that is generally used for all the markets. Bitumen Penetration Grade is commonly used in road surfacing, and some industrial applications. Additional processing yields other grades of bitumen products and their application. The penetration grade bitumen is refinery Blown Asphalt that is manufactured at different viscosities. The penetration test is carried out to characterize the bitumen, based on the hardness. Thus, it has the name penetration bitumen. The penetration bitumen grades range from 15 to 450 for road bitumen. But the most commonly used range is 25 to 200. This is acquired by controlling the test carried out i.e. the distillation process. The partial control of fluxing the residual bitumen with the oils can help in bringing the required hardness. If you are more interested in product information or need to place an order contact or inquire about our Sales team.

PENETRATION GRADING KEY ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES ARE LISTED AS BELOW:

ADVANTAGES	DISADVANTAGES
Temperature susceptibility, can be determined by conducting the test at temperatures other than 25° C (77° F).	temperature susceptibility cannot be determined by a single test at 25° C (77° F).
May also provide a better correlation with low-temperature asphalt binder properties than the viscosity test, which is performed at 60° C (140° F).	Shear rate is variable and high during the test. Since asphalt binders typically behave as a non-Newtonian fluid at 25° C (77° F), this will affect test results.
he test is done at 25° C (77° F), which is reasonably close to a typical pavement average temperature.	The test does not provide information with which to establish mixing and compaction temperatures.
The test is quick and inexpensive. Therefore, it can easily be used in the field.	The test is empirical and does not measure any fundamental engineering parameter such as viscosity.

USAGE OF BITUMEN PENETRATION GRADE

Bitumen Penetration grade is commonly used in road surfacing and industrial projects. It is one of the standard bitumen that is used as a paving grade bitumen and is essential in the production of high-quality asphalt pavements. This type of bitumen is also important because it bounds the aggregates and helps the bituminous mix become more stable and cohesive. Among all the subgrades of penetration grade bitumen, the 60/70 is one of the most commonly used in road construction projects. It is usually mixed with aggregates to form hot mix asphalt and pave roads. Another commonly used bitumen subgrade is the 85/100. It is a type of penetration grade bitumen with high heat-retention properties. Because the 85/100 bitumen holds heat longer, it allows the asphalt to be easily molded on the road. Its heat-retention properties also allow the asphalt not to crack even in low temperatures. This makes the 85/100 bitumen the perfect choice for constructing sturdy and long-lasting roads in high-altitude and cold climate areas.

BITUMEN PENETRATION DEGREE

One of the important characteristics of bitumen is its sensitivity to temperature changes, and to achieve and evaluate this characteristic, the penetration index is used to determine the penetration of bitumens. The change of bitumen state from solid to liquid when adding temperature does not happen suddenly and is done gradually. So that its duration in converting from solid to liquid is different for different bitumen. So, for example, bitumens that have the same degree of penetration at 25 ℃, it is possible that they have different hardness at higher temperatures, and for this reason, it is necessary to determine the degree of penetration for them. For example, bitumen 70-60, 50-40, etc., the number used with these bitumens indicates the range of penetration of the test needle in its test. It is important that there is a direct relationship between the viscosity and the degree of penetration of bitumen, so that with the increase of hardness, the softening point increases and the degree of penetration decreases. The test to determine the degree of penetration of bitumen is done to determine their relative hardness and is one of the most widely used tests related to bitumen and one of the methods of naming types of bitumen is to use the value of their degree of penetration. Due to the fact that bitumen has a viscoelastic nature, its behavior depends on changes in the degree of gravity and the amount of loading per unit of time. In hot weather, bitumen acts like a viscous liquid, and in this case, permanent deformation and less reversible grooves in it. It is created and in cold weather, bitumen acts like an elastic solid material and changes its shape during the passage of vehicles and returns to its original shape during loading, but it may act brittle and crack during loading. Common tests are often performed at a temperature of 25 degrees, and this issue does not indicate the behavior of bitumen at other temperatures. Viscosity test only provides information related to the viscous behavior of bitumen in the range of a certain temperature and does not show the behavior of bitumen at higher and lower temperatures. The most important application is to use the value of the degree of penetration to find out the area where bitumen is used, so that in hot areas and for roads with a lot of traffic, bitumens with a higher degree of penetration are used, and for cold areas, bitumens with a higher degree of penetration are used. It is used less. So, as the bitumen becomes harder, its degree of penetration decreases, and the softer the amount of bitumen, the higher its degree of penetration.

This test is based on the ASTM D 5 standard as follows:

PENETRATION TEST DEFINITION

This test means measuring the consistency of bitumen and bituminous materials, which is done based on the length of a standard needle in tenths of millimeters vertically in the sample under certain conditions.

PURPOSE OF PENETRATION TEST

The purpose of this test is to determine the degree of penetration of bitumen and bituminous materials in solid and semi-solid form. This test is used to measure the consistency so that a higher degree of penetration indicates a lower consistency and a lower degree of penetration indicates a higher consistency.

Conditions for conducting a penetration test:

The standard needle length for this test is 50 mm and for long needles 60 mm.

The specifications of the sample container should be as follows:

For penetrations less than 200, the diameter of the container should be 55 mm and the internal height should be 35 mm.
For the degree of penetration between 250 and 350, the diameter of the container should be 55 to 75 mm and the internal height should be 45 to 70 mm.
For the degree of penetration between 350 and 500, the diameter of the container should be 55 mm and the internal height should be 70 mm.
The water bath for this test must be able to maintain the water temperature at the test temperature with an accuracy of one tenth of a degree Celsius.
The weight of the needle assembly with the holder is 100 grams, and the duration of the needle sinking into the sample is 5 seconds.

PENETRATION TEST DESCRIPTION

In this test, bitumen or bituminous material is poured into the sample container so that after cooling the surface of the bitumen or bituminous material is completely level with the edge of the container. After pouring the sample into the container, let the sample cool for 1 to 1.5 hours at room temperature and then place it in a 25 degree Celsius water bath for 1 to 1.5 hours. After this time, we put the sample together with the container of water containing the sample under the penetration measuring device and perform the penetration test as follows:Place the container containing the sample under the measuring device and let the tip of the needle touch the surface of the sample, then press the button to release the needle and the needle will go into the sample for 5 seconds. To perform the penetration test, at least three needles are used in the form of an imaginary triangle (so that the distance between the tip of each needle and the inner wall is 1 cm). The result of the test is reported as the average of the results of the penetration of three needles.

PAVING PENETRATION GRADE ASPHALT SPECIFICATION AS PER BS EN 12591

Penetration Grade is a standard bitumen usually used as a Paving Blown asphalt essential for road construction and for the production of asphalt pavements with superior properties, and it’s very important once it bounds the aggregates and creates a unique cohesion and stability to the bituminous mix. This grade of Bitumen is mainly used in the manufacture of hot mix asphalt for bases and wearing courses. Penetration Grade Bitumen supplied by RAHA OIL is petroleum grade bitumen, manufactured from fractional / vacuum distillation of crude oil. The Bitumen supplied by RAHA OIL is produced from the vacuum residue (short residue) feedstock. Penetration Grade bitumens are specified by the penetration and softening point test. The designation is by penetration range only. The penetration grade bitumens have a thermoplastic property which causes the material to soften at high temperatures and to harden at lower temperatures. This unique temperature/viscosity relationship is important when determining the performance parameters such as the adhesion, rheology, durability and application temperatures of bitumen.

The major Penetration Grade Bitumen is Bitumen Bitumen 60/70 that is generally used for all the markets. Penetration grading’s basic assumption is that the less viscous the asphalt, the deeper the needle will penetrate. This penetration depth is empirically (albeit only roughly) correlated with asphalt binder performance. Therefore, asphalt binders with high penetration numbers (called “soft”) are used for cold climates while asphalt binders with low penetration numbers (called “hard”) are used for warm climates. The penetration grading system was developed in the early 1900s to characterize the consistency of semi-solid asphalts. Penetration grading quantifies the following asphalt concrete characteristics:

Penetration depth of a 100 g needle 25° C (77° F).
Flashpoint temperature. Ductility at 25°C (77°F).
Solubility in trichloroethylene.
Thin film oven test(accounts for the effects of short-term aging that occurs during mixing with hot aggregate).
Retained penetration.
Ductility at 25° C (77° F)

Specification	Unit	Test method	20/30	40/60	50/70	70/100	100/150
Penetration @ 25°c	0.1 mm	BS EN 1426	20/30	40/60	50/70	70/100	100/150
Softening point °c	°c	BS EN 1427	55-63	48/56	46/54	43/51	39/47
Resistance to hardening @ 163°c	_	BS EN 12607-1	_	_	_	_	_
Change in mass, maximum	%	BS EN 12607-3	0.5	0.5	0.5	0.8	0.8
retained penetration minimum	%	_	55	50	50	46	43
softening point after hardening, minimum	°c	BS EN 1427	57	49	48	45	41
Flash point, minimum	°c	BS EN 22592	240	230	230	230	230
Solubility, minimum	% (m/m)	BS EN 22592	99.0	99.0	99.0	99.0	99.0

TECHNICAL DATA SHET OF PENETRATION GRADE ASTM D 946

Specification	Unit	40/50	60/70	80/100	100/120
Penetration @25°C, 100gm, 5sec	0.1 mm	40/50	60/70	80/100	100/120
Softening Point, Ring & Ball	°C	52-60	49/56	45-52	42-49
Ductility @25°C, after TFOT, Min	CM	100	100	100	100
Loss on Heating, Max	%Wt	0.2	0.2	0.5	0.5
Drop in Penetration after Heating, Max	%	20.0	20.0	20.0	20.0
Flash Point Cleveland open cup, Min	°C	250.0	250.0	232.0	250.0
Solubility in CS2, Min	%Wt	99.5	99.5	99.5	99.5